


Gone

by Punk_Grape



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Eye Trauma, M/M, Octo Expansion DLC, forming ptsd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-02-23 06:48:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23007421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Punk_Grape/pseuds/Punk_Grape
Summary: Having not heard from him in a few days, Emperor goes out looking for Rider, and stumbles into the aftermath of Rider having his mind taken over.
Relationships: Emperor/Rider (Splatoon)
Kudos: 27
Collections: CoroikaCollection





	Gone

Alarm bells really began to go off for Emperor when Rider’s teammates began to worry about his whereabouts, too. It was one thing to worry about him as a boyfriend, but when his team even decided to worry, red flags went up. Through asking people, or rather interrogating them, Emperor had concluded Rider had gone out to the forest, dragging his dynamo with him and some extra gear to wear, though he mostly disregarded that piece information, clothes didn’t have much relevance for Rider’s whereabouts. The turf king did, however, bring a change for himself; he’d yet to tell Rider, though he wanted to several times in the past, that he’d been working as an agent for the New Squidbeak Splatoon almost right before they met. The gear he’d gotten from his adventures had a handy headset that he could wear, the other members able to talk to him through it. While the shoes were bulky and the hoodie obnoxiously bright safety yellow, it was comfortable to run in, and allowed for easy movement with weapons. It also helped him not be as recognizable; on could argue he stuck out like a sore thumb, but he already had before, with his jacket. Clothes swapped, Emperor followed what others had said, leading him out of town, trying to find where his boyfriend disappeared to. 

Emperor wandered around for a bit, trying to find any sign that Rider had been through the area, when the ground suddenly gave out below him, plummeting him deep underground. Head and body bumped along the tunnel, until Emperor landed on his face in a strange chamber. Too big for him to count as a room, the area held many piping, half in use pumping some kind of liquid, while the platform he was on was covered in a strange turquoise ink. The substance was unusual, unlike normal enemy ink, the liquid burned Emperor slightly as he stood in it, making him quick to get his own ink down. Looking around, he noticed several pools of the weird ink like substance, with boxes being put into it, then removed some time later. 

Confusion was written on his face, but he remained silent, until his headset started to talk to him. He hadn’t expected it, so when he heard a familiar voice over the radio, he jumped slightly. “Are you here to help?” he was asked, his heart speeding up for a moment. 

“Is that... are you Marina?” 

“What? Um... no... I’m DJ Hyperfresh. Anyway, if you’re here to help, that’s great, since-“

Emperor shook his head. “No time to help, I’m looking for someone. Blockhead dynamo user who thinks he’s so great to have inked my shoes.” 

“Oh, Ride- I mean Agent 3.5 sounds like the person you’re wanting. Something is happening... you better meet up with the others so you can help.” 

“Help with what?” 

Marina was no further help in explaining what he was needed for, only really helping him navigate his way through the large chamber, which led to another, and to another, until finally she was confident that he’d reached the same area as the others, though he still didn’t know who the others were. 

He’d had to climb a ways up, and could hear a battle going on, which set him on edge if he were honest. Sound of splashdowns and ballers exploding filled the area, and the definitive sound of a dynamo being swung. After a swing, he finally heard someone else familiar, this time they were yelling. “Rider, snap out of it!” could be heard, and Emperor’s stomach dropped. Rider was there, something was wrong, there shouldn’t be that much panic in the voice he knew. 

What seemed to take forever finally ended, Emperor had finally reached the others, but the battle it seemed had finished; he was greeted with the sight of Rider curled up on the floor, unconscious, while the rest expressed their confusion of him being there. It seemed Blue team had been on quite the adventure, and had picked up a few others along the way, not that he got to hear much of their explanations, as loud music started to play over his headset, Marina trying to tell him something, though he couldn’t make out exactly what it was. 

As it turned out, she and Pearl were flying in on helicopters to pick everyone up, and the group had to reach the surface for them to meet up. After assuring others he could do it, Emperor picked up Rider, still unconscious, and hauled him and his dynamo to the surface. The main helicopter had a large platform underneath, which everyone boarded, and the group finally began their trip home. Emperor looked down at Rider, the stubborn dynamo user still very much unconscious; something seemed wrong, Rider was frowning while knocked out, but Emperor didn’t have time to investigate, as the ground they had been on moments ago began to shift. 

Everyone began to panic as they watched a gigantic human statue emerge from the ocean. There was an unholy screeching noise, and others were pointing at the weird goo mess in the statue’s eye, it was a telephone apparently, though Emperor couldn’t see it very well. It hardly mattered, as the statue opened up, revealing a machine of some sort, which began to whir to life, the goo mess screeching about eliminating all life and starting anew. Marina was already analyzing the device and statue while everyone worried, and had soon come up with an idea of how to stop it. It was solar powered, so if they covered it with ink, then it would in theory stop charging up. With the plan set, everyone jumped to the statue, Emperor taking a moment to put Rider down and make sure he wouldn’t fall off.   
-  
Rider was in agony when he woke up, his head killing him with a headache, his body sore, nothing seemed to want to work at first. He couldn’t even open his eyes, sit up, let out a big breath, all he could do was stay where he was for the time being, and recall what had put him in this state. He’d gone in search of blue team, at the request of the captain, and had found them if he remembered right. They were about to be blended, but he came in and saved them, that didn’t seem too strenuous. 

It was after that, remembering it caused his chest to squeeze tight, breathing suddenly much more difficult; he’d been looking after clean up, that telephone thing had a disdain for them, and it had done something to him. Somehow it had hijacked his mind and body, using him as a puppet; Rider didn’t remember at first what was going on around him, all he could remember was being shut out of his own body, trying to struggle against the force controlling him, his consciousness trapped in a small cage, unable to escape. He had seen but didn’t see clearly, everything was blurred in his mind; there was no doubt he’d done something bad, he could at least remember the voices yelling at him, trying to get him to return to normal. 

Whenever he spoke, it wasn’t him while it was, his voice being used against his will, the thought of what he had said unwillingly hurt. The others might annoy him, but Rider would never intentionally try to cause them any serious harm. Something had shaken him out of the mind controlled state, he just couldn’t remember what, all he knew was he must have fallen unconscious after; no amount of trying to remember would bring him any more information on what happened.

With his chest still tight, Rider managed to crack an eye open, taking in the blinding light that flooded a familiar room, his room, he was home. Next came the attempted big breath, and finally the struggle to move until he was sitting up; all the while Emperor watched, holding back helping him until he absolutely needed it. Instead, he opted to talk, though he avoided looking directly at Rider as he did, he couldn’t. “Rider,” he said quietly, watching his reaction. 

The green inkling turned to look at the voice, it was Emperor, he was there, a feeling of safety washed over him. “Emp?” was all he could manage, his voice worse for wear. He seemed to be getting control back, but he still couldn’t open the other eye, no matter what he tried. It was frustrating, he’d admit, as he tried over and over to see with both, the one just wouldn’t work. “Can’t see...” he mumbled, and watched as Emperor looked down and away. That set off alarms, something was massively wrong if Emperor was quiet, uncomfortable by what had been said. “I can’t see, my eye...” 

Emperor looked hurt, it pained him to look at Rider, thought after thought of self blame ran through his mind. “Rider, I- I couldn’t do anything to save it.” 

“Save what?” 

“It’s gone.” 

Rider was already in a panic, but his mind was still fuzzy. “Emp, what is gone?” 

“Your eye!” Emperor finally snapped, jaw twitching. “Something happened to it before I got to you. I don’t know what it is, what did this, but Rider, you don’t have that eye any more, and it kills me I could do nothing to help.” 

Rider reached a hand up to his face, feeling around the now foreign landscape; not only did he find a hole where his eye used to be, he could feel bumps and divots of lines along that side of his face, too. “Gone...” he whispered to himself, hand dropping into his lap. 

“I’m sorry, Rider.” 

“It’s gone, my eye is gone.” 

The two fell silent, Emperor eventually moving to sit on the bed with Rider, who fell into his lap, in slight shock and slight despair. Without thought, Emperor began to strike Rider’s head, the action calming for both of them. “I’m here for you, as I always have been, and as I always will be.”


End file.
